the story of us, part 1...

On May 29th Chris and I will celebrate fourteen amazing years of marriage.  The anniversary caused me to reflect on how it all began for us.  I thought I would document it all so that not only could Chris and I always look back on how our story began but that also someday our kids could do the same.  Here is part one of our story...

If you were to ask the question, “where did you two meet?” you could get two drastically different answers, depending on who you asked.  I, of course, would tell you the truth…that we met at church camp.  Chris would tell you that we met at Taco Bell, a story that is a little more colorful but also not entirely untrue. 

Maybe I should start at the beginning… 

It was the summer of 1997, the year that I graduated from high school.  I was in a serious relationship with a guy I had dated off and on throughout high school.  From the outside I appeared to be perfectly happy in that relationship.  Part of me believed I was with the guy that I would eventually marry but deep down, hidden from everyone, I knew that something was wrong… something was missing. 

In August the youth group from our church in San Jose was going to church camp at Mt. Gilead, as we did every summer.  My brother and I always looked forward to camp every year.  So we packed up our stuff, I said good-bye to my boyfriend and we headed up to camp.  

When we got to Mt. Gilead we saw all of our old friends from the other churches that attended camp with us every year.  Chris’ church was already there when we arrived.  I saw Craig who I knew from previous summers.  It was hard to miss Craig with his outgoing personality and hearty laugh but I had never met Chris, his much quieter older brother.

That year I saw Chris…a lot. He was in charge of the campfire program so in addition to seeing him walking around camp I also saw him up on stage every night.  I remember thinking that he was pretty cute with his blond hair and athletic build but reminded myself that I had a boyfriend and tried not to give him much more thought.

That particular year the camp food was terrible.  I know there are many jokes that can be made about camp food and I would have to agree with them all.  That food was nasty.  As a result, one day, my friends and I got permission from the camp director to go into town and eat at Taco Bell for lunch.

So there we were, four girls giggling over soft tacos and relishing in the fact that we had avoided the foul camp food for one meal, when in walked “the cute campfire guy”.  I will admit that we all panicked.  We were wearing our camp name tags that revealed not only our names but also what campfire team we were on.  Realizing that we had been “caught” we quickly removed our name tags and hid them out of sight.  

(the aforementioned name tag)

Chris had obviously seen us before since we all went to the same camp every year.  I remember the confident way he walked over to our table.  He asked us what we were doing there in a playful tone that suggested he knew that we had been caught.  His eyes fell on me and he flashed a smile that made my heart skip a beat. 

I tried not to stare at him for too long but I couldn’t help stealing glances at him.  He was wearing a white t-shirt, shorts and a navy blue hat.   What I will never forget are his brilliant blue eyes.  I had never seen eyes like his before.  

                                                             (This picture is courtesy of my friend who took a picture of "the cute campfire guy" for me)

Chris asked me for my name and thinking that he was planning to embarrass me at campfire I wouldn’t tell him.  When I wouldn’t answer he asked my friends questions about me and I kept wondering, “is he flirting with me?” and then quickly reminding myself,  “what are you thinking, you have a boyfriend.  Avoid any further eye contact.”

Somehow, over the course of the meal Chris got a hold of our name tags and told us we would have to come up on stage at campfire and sing to get them back.  Chris walked out of Taco Bell with us and I can still remember the way that he looked at me when I squealed (yes, I actually squealed) as I jumped out of my friend’s car after burning my legs on the leather seat.   I was embarrassed but also a little flattered that he had glanced in my direction.  “He was watching…real smooth, Stephanie.”

(last day of church camp, 1997)

The rest of camp that year was a bit of a blur and pretty soon we were back at home...

Part two coming soon!